I have competed well; ¹  I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!

“Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure.

For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” ¹ 

And the fruit that consists of righteousness ¹  is planted ²  in peace among ³  those who make peace.

And he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

Indeed, I will also make every effort that, after my departure, you have a testimony of these things. ¹ 

For ¹  this is the love of God: ²  that we keep his commandments. ³  And his commandments do not weigh us down,

If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ²  and he rebuked you last night.”

Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All ¹  the years of my travels ²  are 130. All ³  the years of my life have been few and painful; ⁴  the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” ⁵ 

Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything.

then I discerned all that God has done: ¹  No one really comprehends what happens ²  on earth. ³  Despite all human ⁴  efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp ⁵  it. ⁶  Even if ⁷  a wise person claimed ⁸  that he understood, he would not really comprehend ⁹  it.

For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹ 

Then ¹  I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: ‘Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, ²  because their deeds will follow them.” ³ 

When you try to cultivate ¹  the ground it will no longer yield ²  its best ³  for you. You will be a homeless wanderer ⁴  on the earth.”

There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt ¹  to stay for a while ²  because the famine was severe. ³ 

Isaac prayed to ¹  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ¹  saying, ²  “Certainly ³  God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.”

So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, ¹  for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us ¹  as if we were ²  spying on the land.